New research from the left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy shows that lowering taxes doesn’t necessarily spur economic activity.
For example, after the 2008 recession, five states, including Maine, enacted large tax cuts. In four of them, Maine included, job growth trailed the national average after the cuts. Maine’s job growth from 2012 to 2015, was an anemic 1.7 percent, compared to national job growth of 6.3 percent. Growth in personal income also lagged the national rate.
Both spending cuts and revenue increases must be considered to balance budget
